Page 55 of The Villain

I drew him into my lap with one arm behind his knees and the other at his back. Pain streaked through my shoulder, andI sucked in a ragged breath. Something wet trickled down my chest.

Devlin reached out with his uninjured hand. “Y-you’re still bleeding? Why? You need… to rest.”

I gritted my teeth through the pain of what felt like skin tearing and the strain of muscles that didn’t want to obey as I curled Devlin protectively against my chest and rose to my feet. My head spun, and my vision tunneled before righting itself into something resembling focus. I turned and stumbled.

Rhys reached out, but I instinctively pulled away from him with a snarl. “Don’tfuckingtouch him.”

Rhys, normally so stoic and in control, frowned in confusion. “Cian… I don’t understand. He…” His voice trailed off as he stared at me.

The room stank of blood. My muscles trembled. I felt less than human, like a beast protecting its mate.

My lips curled into a snarl. “Hesaved my fucking life.”

I took one step forward. Then another. Pain saturated every movement. My leg buckled, nearly sending us to the ground before I caught myself, and Devlin cried out in pain as he jostled in my arms.

“Get Dr. Bev,” I grunted to Rhys. I didn’t have much left in me. I could feel my vision darkening at the edges. My thighs burned and shook as I shouldered past Rhys and Jace to make it out into the hallway. Eyes were everywhere now. Men crowded along the hallway, silent and watching as I carried a limp Devlin toward my apartment.

Every step felt like a mile. The scent of Devlin’s blood kept me conscious, while his ragged breaths grated in my ears. Then my apartment door opened in front of me. Maybe Rhys had done it. Maybe my fingers had typed in the code out of habit. Maybe I’d willed it open with my mind. But then we were there. Inside. And my bed was there. Right there… I stumbled again, nearlydropping Devlin as he clung to me with his one good arm. We hit the mattress with identical pained groans. I collapsed to my knees beside the bed. Devlin’s upper body lay on the mattress while his legs dangled off the edge.

I pushed his matted hair off his forehead. “I promised, didn’t I?”

Another tear slid down Devlin’s temple. His fingers brushed across my lips, and I pressed them to his knuckles in a kiss. His chin wobbled, and the vulnerability nearly undid me completely.

Footsteps creaked across the floor behind me, and I lurched to my feet with gritted teeth. Rhys stood in the open doorway to my room with his arms crossed over his chest. Behind him was a very pale Jace, twisting his fingers together in a nervous habit I hadn’t seen in years.

“Who did this to him?” I pointed to Devlin on the bed. “I said no one touches him but me, Rhys. Itold you.” I shifted my gaze to Jace, who I knew wanted a piece of Devlin. “Was this you? Did you fuck him up behind my back?”

Rhys’s expression tightened, and his eyes flashed a warning as he stepped to block Jace from my view. His lips twisted into a snarl.

“Say whatever you want to me. But blame Jace again, and I’ll put you in the ground, injured or not. He just spent the last two days fucked up, thinking his brother might die.” His voice cut like a knife. “You don’t understand what we found in that warehouse. We thought you were dead, Cian. We couldn’t feel a pulse, for fuck’s sake. You were both covered in blood, and that fucker wouldn’t say a word. We had no idea who was responsible, so yeah, maybe we tried to beat it out of him. I was first in line to crack my fist across his jaw.”

He took a step toward me, and Jace made a panicked sound of protest. Rhys’s voice lowered as his chest bumped mine. “Youwanna get back at me for hitting him? Wanna crack my jaw too? My loyalty is to you and only you. Not that devil.”

My gaze dropped to Rhys’s bruised knuckles. I wouldn’t hit him, but my blood raged to make this right, to make anyone who hurt Devlin pay. “Did you find a gun? Why was his shirt wrapped around my neck? Why didn’t he run?”

A muscle in Rhys’s jaw jumped. “I’m not a fucking detective. And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly trying to handle this motherfucker with care. He wouldn’t give us anything, and that was reason enough to put a boot in his gut. The only thing I had was a text fromyouthat said,I’ve been shot, and a location tag.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “What?”

Devlin shrugged, and the small motion made him wince. “Thought he’d come faster if the text came from you.”

“Then why didn’t you tell them what happened?”

He slowly blinked his one eye. “I thought you were dead.Theysaidyou were dead. So… What was the point?”

He had no self-preservation skills. None. We had talked about this. “So you let them beat the shit out of you?”

He bared his bloodstained teeth. “What. Was. The. Point?”

There was a big one, and we’d be discussing it later in private. But for now, in front of Rhys and Jace, there was another.

“If someone wanted me dead, they’d hurt my crew too. Your information could’ve helped them.”

His lip curled into a smirk, and a scab broke open. Blood trickled down his chin as his gaze shifted to Rhys before returning to me. “My loyalty is to you and only you.”

Rhys growled low in his throat, and I placed a hand against his chest before he could launch himself at Devlin and strangle him with his bare hands.

“Don’t,” I grated. Fatigue was setting in, and I swayed on my feet.